Cry
by TheEvilBunny
Summary: There are some tears that never reach the eyes. Slade has come back to haunt Robin and Raven has a few words to say. Little does she know that those few words cost her life.


Disclaimer: I do not own teen titans!

"Aargh!" Robin pounded the table. He just couldn't think of it. What did he want? What was his plan? Who is he?

Robin stared at the table and kicked it to the side. Newspaper cuttings scattered to the floor. Water spilled on the floor and the glass shattered.

Who is Slade?

"Breakfast is ready!" shouted Beastboy.

"Good, I'm really hungry." Cyborg said, rubbing his metallic tummy. "What're we having?"

"Tofu!" replied Beastboy with a proud smile.

"Aw Man!" complained the metal man, he suddenly lost his appetite. "But we had tofu yesterday!"

"That's okay," replied Beastboy, setting the dish full of tofu on the table. "Tofu's good."

Just then, Robin emerged from his room.

"Friend Robin, did you sleep well?" asked the Tamaranean titan.

"Not really, I couldn't sleep." replied Robin. He sat down beside Raven on the couch.

"Rae! Robin! Time to eat." called the green changeling. He sat down beside Starfire and filled his plate with tofu. "Can't you smell good tofu?"

"I can't." murmured Cyborg at Starfire. She stared at him with a confused look and replied: "I can't smell it either, friend Cyborg. Don't worry."

"Nah, I don't feel like eating. I had a rough night, and I just want to lay back," said Robin. He put his feet on the table and let his head fall back.

"Friend Raven, please dine with us. We are eating the aroma less yet, wondrous tofu Beastboy made."

Raven looked back from the couch. Her face showed no expression, but it made the other titans feel small.

"I guess not." Beastboy said quietly.

Raven buried herself in her book and whispered:

"You never give up do you?"

"Huh?" asked the wonder boy. "You said something?"

"I heard you last night."

Robin looked at her in disbelief. Did she spy on him?

"I heard you. Everything got torn apart," she continued, not looking up from her book.

"Don't you ever get tired?"

"I won't stop until I find and defeat him." he replied angrily. His hands were curled into fists.

"I meant, don't you ever get tired...of crying?" she asked emotionlessly.

"What? I didn't even cry!" he replied crossly. He crossed his arms across his chest.

"There are some tears that never reach the eyes."

Robin looked at his demon friend and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were soft, but unwilling to look and show expression. "Life's too short to be lived by crying. Two of the people you love are already dead. Don't you get tired of crying?"

Robin's heart was pounding against his chest and he wasn't able to talk back. His breathing was hard and his hands were curled up again. Why did she have to mention his parents? It was as if she was making him feel bad, but wasn't. He couldn't understand.

"Maybe I'll go get some air," he said suddenly, standing up. He headed for the door and left his friends and Raven, who was reading the same sentence for the seventh time.

Robin was walking down the sidewalks of Jump City when he encountered a small alley.

"I haunt your dreams, and your mind, Robin." He knew that voice. "Do you know who I am?"

Slade.

Robin turned to the dark alley and he was welcomed by a strong force across his cheek. He fell to the ground and wiped away the blood from his lower lip.

He stood up with his fists in front of his face for defense. He took the first punch and the second and the third, but Slade blocked each one.

Robin crouched down and kicked Slade's knees. Now Slade was at his level.

Holding the enemy to the ground, Robin put his hand around Slade's mask.  
"Oh no, Robin. Not yet." said Slade mysteriously.

Slade held Robin's wrist, keeping Robin from unmasking him. Robin's hand was being pushed away from the mask and little by little, Robin got weaker and weaker. Soon enough, Slade completely pushed Robin off him.

The wonder boy stood up and Slade's hand went across his left cheek, then his right.

Blood was dripping to the ground.

"What do you want?" asked Robin, holding his bruised cheek.

"Patience, Robin." came the reply.

Robin was seeing double and he couldn't hit his enemy. Slade kicked him on his stomach and sent him crashing to the ground.

He couldn't move, he couldn't talk.

Slade's foot was on top of his chest. He tried to get it off, but he was too weak.

"No, Robin, you won't die."

The force on his chest was making it hard to breathe. He felt bad, not being able to defeat Slade...now he understood.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

A black force sent Slade off Robin.

"Come to rescue your little friend?" asked Slade.

A black Raven emerged from the ground. It had four eyes instead of two. Robin saw the blurry picture of the black bird turning into a girl.

"Raven." he murmured with a smile.

She wasn't using any of her powers. She was trying to control them. If she used her powers, her emotion would trigger it to go overboard and destroy everything within a hundred kilometers. No, she couldn't risk that.

Robin's elbows were supporting his body. He saw every blurry move, but saw one clear shot. The last one.

Slade kicked Raven across the chest and sent her flying to the other side of the road.

She hit the stand of a tall billboard of cola. Her body tried desperately to get out of the way, but the billboard came crashing down on her.

"No!" cried Robin, his eyes wide with shock. "Slade." he whispered with gritted teeth.

His hand was ready to punch the dark figure...

"Till next time Robin."

... But his punch only cracked the wall.

He ran to the other side and tried to lift the remains of the crashed billboard. "Rae...Raven...Tell me you're okay..." he cried, his whole body trembling.

_I heard you. Everything got torn apart._

He desperately tried to get to Raven as soon as possible, digging through the remains.

_I meant, don't you ever get tired...of crying?_

Robin finally found Raven's limp body. He took her hands, they were ice cold and her cheeks were wet with tears but there was satisfaction. For years and years...she finally cried freely.

_There are some tears that never reach the eyes._

THE NEXT DAY 

Robin sat on the couch, flipping channels.

"Man, I can't believe this happened." Cyborg said, with his head on his hands.

Beastboy sat motionless, with his hands limp from his shoulders.

Starfire, for the first time, was quiet and steady.

She was sitting beside Cyborg and tears were falling down her cheeks.

"Robin, how can you not be upset about this happening?"

"Star, everyone's upset about Raven. It's just pointless to be crying about it over and over again."

"Man, how can you say that?" asked Cyborg angrily. "If you didn't leave the tower, Raven wouldn't have followed you!"

"Life's too short to be lived by crying. Three of the people I love are dead, and I'm done crying."


End file.
